But I Love You Was Not
by confessions.of.katijane
Summary: George & Katie hear a lot of things from each other...but never anything too friendly. Until one night in detention, however...


**A/N: Just felt like doing a one-shot…nothing special  And if you're going to tell me that the Peeves incident was in the 5th book & the Yule Ball was in the 4th…I already know. I just don't care :)**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter, etc. belongs solely to J.K. Rowling…of course.**

George glared at Katie and Katie glared at George.

"This is all your fault, you know," she said spitefully, angrily chipping frog guts from the ceiling of the dungeon.

"_My _fault!" George spat out incredulously, kicking aside a bucket of soapy water.

"Yes, your fault! Who was the one with the bright idea to bring their _new invention _into potions class? In liquid form! How could you not have conceived that it might somehow have ended up in our cauldron?"

"Well, forgive _me _for thinking that you might not have been your usual klutzy self today and _avoided _completely knocking the entire contents into the sleeping draught!"

Katie gasped, and then narrowed her eyes. "How _dare _you!"

"How dare I?" George returned with equal venom. "How _dare_ I! I'm sorry, Katie, but to tell you the truth I'm a little fed up with you—this is the second time in a week you've landed us in detention. Forgive me, but I'd like to have a little _free time_."

"What, so you and Fred can cook up another clever little scheme to blow up the entire potions room? No way! This is probably actually _good _for someone like you—providing you aren't too much of a prat to learn a lesson! And what are you saying, _my _fault? I thought we just established that this was _your _fault!"

"No—_you _established that this was my fault—just like you always do. _I _would like to remind you that it was _you _who felt the need to chuck things at Peeves on Tuesday. And then what happened? He threw an ink bottle at you. You were covered in it and then slipped, just like you always do, right into me. And what happened after that? _Straight_ into McGonagoll. Well done, Katie!"

Katie blew out air angrily, causing her blonde hair to fly out of her face and land in exactly the same spot. She pushed it aside.

"_That_," she said, "was an accident. You know that, I know that, the rest of our _friends _know that, and anyone who saw knows that. You're positively incorrigible!"

"Would you quit it with using words I don't understand! I've asked you a million times!" George said exasperatedly.

Katie frowned. "I made you index cards, _remember_? So you could study? I even laminated them for you."

He laughed. "You seriously expect me to spend extra time studying just so I can understand you?"

"Oh, I see," she replied haughtily, "So I'm the one that has to make all the changes while you just sit back and enjoy yourself."

"_No_," he said slowly, "I take that back. I don't _want _to know what you're saying to me. It's always mean."

"No it isn't!" Katie protested, throwing down the putty knife she'd been using to disconnect the amphibian innards. "And if it is, it's not exactly my fault—if you were nice to _me _every once in a while, I might feel inclined to return the gesture!"

"I _am _nice to you!" George shouted. "_You _just never notice!"

"_Please_," Katie said, using her wand to dry up the water George had spilled. "Believe me, if you were ever nice, I _would _notice."

"Oh yeah?" George asked angrily. "Try today. I did something nice for you and not only did you not notice—you ruined it! And that's why we're here! In detention—for _Snape_."

Katie stared at him, confused and annoyed. "What on earth are you talking about, George?" she said, asking against her better judgment.

"This," he replied, exasperated, pulling out a small vial of liquid from inside his robes. "This was what you spilled in the potion today. And _this_—"he said, emptying the contents onto the floor, "was what it did when you were turned around too busy yelling at me to notice."

Katie observed the floor curiously as the liquid began to pop and fizzle, sending fireworks in every direction around the room and, in the very middle, a miniature redhead and blonde in tiny dressrobes danced together.

"I was _trying _to ask you to the Ball," George sighed. "But _you _only seemed to care about yelling at me for making our potion blow up."

Katie stared at him, speechless. Ask _her _to the Yule Ball? Impossible. She wouldn't believe it. She was angry.

"You're a liar," she said. "You made that up as an alibi in case I got mad at you tonight!"

George growled angrily. "I am _not _lying!" he yelled. "You can ask Fred—ask Lee—ask whoever you want, I don't care. I was _trying_ to be nice to you!"

Katie glared. "Be _nice _to me!" she ejaculated, about half an inch from his face. "So you decided that being _nice _entailed asking me to the Yule Ball because no else has, is that it! Some idea of _nice_!"

"No!" he shouted right back, "That wasn't what I meant—I meant I was trying to _ask _you nicely. I asked you because I like you, alright!"

Katie was silenced for a moment, and then yelled, "You do not!"

"Would you quit telling me what I do and don't mean! I do like you, whether you like it or not, okay! Merlin, you're so stubborn!"

"Stubborn! You're so childish!"

"High maintenance!"

"Immature!"

"Perfectionist!"

"Screw-up!"

"Controlling!"

"Kiss me!"

"Fine!"

And so George leaned over and kissed Katie Bell, straight on the mouth, and for her part she returned his bravery with very equal passion and enthusiasm. When they parted, they were still glaring at each other.

"I guess I'll go with you, then," Katie finally said, looking away.

"Good," George said shortly.

They were still glaring. George, at Katie; Katie, at the wall.

"I like you, too," she said.

"Good."

"Sorry for ruining today."

"I liked this better."

"Me too."

And she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again, more gently than before. Anger melted away into happiness and all was right in the frog covered dungeon…Until Professor Snape walked in on them, yelled, and ordered another week's worth of detention.

"George, you insufferable git!" was heard throughout the entire castle, but "I love you" was not.


End file.
